Mary Ellen Brown, Director of Education and Meeting Services
The movement to be environmentally responsible is spreading—no wait, it’s here! Everyone knows the mantra “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.”
The term sustainability (an enduring, balanced approach to economic activity, environmental responsibility and social progress) has gained traction in the last few years.
We’ve considered these issues as we plan, prepare, and run the ABCT Convention each year.
We would like to share with you some of our thoughts and the ways in which ABCT is incorporating this effort.
What makes a meeting green?
Simply put, a green meeting incorporates environmental considerations throughout all its stages in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment.
As we plan for the future, we will be considering each hotel or convention center with an eye to their commitment to being environmentally friendly.
Questions include:
Is on-site recycling provided with separate receptacles for paper, cans and bottles, and trash?
Are lights and air conditioning routinely turned off in meeting rooms and guest rooms when not in use?
Have incandescent light bulbs been replaced with compact fluorescent bulbs?
Is excess food donated?
Are staff trained in implementing environmental policies?
Is recyclable material used instead of Styrofoam?
Do they offer a linen reuse program so that bed linens are changed only when requested and towels are replaced only when left on the floor?
Are you using our on-line information?
Hopefully you have used the upgraded Convention information on the ABCT website.
The Itinerary Planner (link located on the home page) allows you to search for your interest area or for a specific presenter.
We expect more and more attendees will use this site, and will transfer the information to their own PDAs.
As the ABCT Convention continues to grow, it becomes ever clearer that distributing information on-line is preferable.
In several ways ABCT has already been doing what is being suggested in the meeting industry.
Our events are modest, without excessive decoration and nonsense giveaways.
We use recycled paper for registration envelopes and for the convention program book.
We encourage exhibitors to be sensible with their products and giveaways.
We have distributed information and forms on-site rather than through the mail, which often is not received and requires duplication.
Our convention overall evaluation is on-line, saving 4,000 pieces of paper.
Response in this format was more than double for the Orlando Convention compared to previous meetings.
This year we asked presenters at ticketed CE functions to limit the size of their printed handouts and to make further information available to attendees on-line.
Please share your experiences, both positive and negative, so that we can better our plans for future ABCT Conventions.
The 2009 Convention is at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel and they are an excellent partner. Their materials say:
THE MARQUIS IS GREEN
We at the New York Marriott Marquis have been practicing Earth preservation and eco-conscious techniques for several years. Standard Operating Procedures that are practiced at the Marquis on a daily basis:
Our trash is sorted at a trash distribution plant and all paper, glass, plastics and aluminum items are recycled
Our kitchen donates an average of 200 pounds every week of non-expired (but otherwise unusable) products to City Harvest
Our Housekeeping department has a sign in every room that asks guests to consider re-using their towels and bed linens for up to 3 days (if they are comfortable). All materials will be cleaned on a daily basis otherwise
In all of our meeting rooms, we use recycled paper pads
On all coffee breaks & in our outlets that serve coffee, we offer recycled paper cups (as opposed to china) if the guest prefers it
Also on all coffee breaks & in our outlets, we put out recycled paper napkins
We offer organic tea & coffee
In all of our administrative offices, we recycle the paper we use
In addition to the procedures currently in place, the Marriott Marquis formed a "Green Council". This Council's purpose is two-fold: To raise eco-consciousness throughout the hotel and to research and develop other techniques that the hotel can adopt to better serve the environment.
Address correspondence to Mary Ellen Brown, Director of Education and Meeting Services, at mebrown@abct.org.
